


The Right Time

by BigGleeFanatic



Category: Glee
Genre: Domestic Violence, Finn Lives, Multi, Narcissism, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27584072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigGleeFanatic/pseuds/BigGleeFanatic
Summary: Finn never liked Blaine. Granted, if Kurt were to truly dwell on it, many of his old friends hadn’t. Mercedes didn’t like Blaine at all, at least not at first. Though after Kurt transferred their friendship became strained. When graduation came around it was as though they were merely acquaintances. When he thought about it, that was the same pattern with all of his old friends. The Warblers and he stopped talking when he transferred back to Mckinley, Jeff and Nick tried to maintain contact but after the Michael Jackson incident, they eventually left too. Mike, Quinn, Puck, and even Sam all stopped reaching out to him at one point or another. Santana and Brittany still emailed him from time to time, though he feared that sooner or later it would stop. At first, Kurt had wondered why, well not at first. At first, he had thought nothing of it. He and Mercedes grew apart he figured. The Warblers and he were never actually close and it was too awkward for Jeff and Nick to reach out. He would tell himself. Then the argument happened, and well now he wondered why he didn’t listen.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sam Evans & Kurt Hummel
Comments: 25
Kudos: 54





	1. When Enough is Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things: One anything in italics is a memory of a previous event. Two, this is not a light fic. I am warning you all now, there will be references to sexual abuse. There is also physical, psychological, and verbal abuse in this fic. If that is triggering at all to you then click out of this fic.

Finn never liked Blaine. Granted, if Kurt were to truly dwell on it, many of his old friends hadn’t. Mercedes didn’t like Blaine at all, at least not at first. Puck hadn't trusted him at all until Blaine took the slushy for Kurt. Sam hated him, as did Finn. As for the rest, they were either uninterested in him or worshipped the ground he walked on. That was the theme until graduation. Well, not exactly. 

Kurt's relationship with Mercedes had become strained when he transferred to Dalton. When graduation came around it was as though they were merely acquaintances. Jeff and Nick were never the biggest fans of Blaine and were the only Warblers to keep in contact with him after he transferred back to Mckinley. It wasn't until the slushy incident did they stop reaching out to him When he thought about it, that was the same pattern with all of his old friends. Mike, Quinn, Puck, and even Sam all stopped reaching out to him at one point or another. Santana and Brittany still emailed him from time to time, though he feared that sooner or later it would stop. At first, Kurt had wondered why, well not at first. At first, he had thought nothing of it. He and Mercedes grew apart he figured. The Warblers and he were never actually close and it was too awkward for Jeff and Nick to reach out. Then the party happened.

It was a simple engagement party. Blaine had invited the warblers and Kurt invited the New Direction alumni. Rachel and Finn were in the corner most of that night and it was hard to keep track of anyone. At one point Quinn and Puck had pulled him out of the room to talk. The two of them tried to tell him that Blaine wasn't what he seemed. At that point, Kurt was not ready to admit it. Instead, he told them that he was sure and that he knew what he was getting himself into. Later that night he had to explain what they had wanted, which ended in a less than stellar evening with his fiance. 

_“What do they know about our relationship?” Blaine huffed as he paced back and forward in their living room. Kurt sighed as he leaned back into the couch, Blaine had been on this rant for the past half hour and it was starting to worry him a bit. Blaine should have let it go by now right?_

_“They are just concerned, Blaine. They didn’t mean it like-” Kurt tried but Blaine instantly stopped pacing and turned to look at him._

_“Didn’t mean it like what, Kurt? Like I’m not good enough for you? What lies have you been telling them to think that about me? What, like how I cheated on you? Is that what you told them? Or did you tell them about Sebastian? Those were family-friendly text, Kurt.” Blaine's right eye began squinting and his eyebrows began to scrunch up. In a few seconds, Kurt knew the boy’s nostrils would start flaring, he also knew that despite his calm tone his fiancee was furious._

_“No, no, nothing like that. Blaine, they probably are just concerned because I was so against Finn and Rachel being engaged. Remember, back in my senior year.” Kurt instantly said. He was surprised that it seemed to work, even though they both knew it was a straight out lie. They both knew why Quinn would tell him that maybe he should rethink the engagement._

_“You’re right. Maybe, to be safe, we shouldn’t talk to Quinn and Puck for a while. They seem to get into your head anyways. “ Blaine said, his body relaxed and his tone faded away from the fake calm that it had been. Kurt nodded slowly and reached his hand out to Blaine so he could hold it._

_“Of course. You’re right.” He said softly, even though everything in his head was swimming with questions. How did Puck and Quinn of all people get into his head? He was barely friends with them to begin with._

After that night he hadn't spoken to either of them. Sadly that wasn't enough to make him leave, but it was enough to make him think. He began to wonder why the others actually stopped reaching out. It doesn't matter now, that party happened almost five years ago. It wasn’t even their first argument one they had at that point, their first argument period had happened shortly after Rachel’s party back in high school. As a couple, it happened in the parking lot at Scandals. Well, Blaine would say it happened when Kurt cheated on him with Chandler. Blaine would say a lot of things, do a lot of things. If he were to sit there and think about every red flag or alarm bells that he seemingly missed then he would go insane. Still, he can’t help but feel blind. Like he was an idiot for not noticing it and an even bigger moron for staying even though he knew that he was trapped. He got married to the guy even though he knew it was wrong. They broke up because Blaine cheated on him, yet he slept with him while he was moving on. They got engaged even though he knew Blaine had a thing for Sam. Granted he knew Sam wasn’t into Blaine, the blond boy had assured him of that almost a thousand times while he was out there visiting. It didn’t matter, that engagement ended his friendship with Adam and Sam was gone within a year of his and Blaine's marriage. 

_“Who was that on the phone Blaine?” Kurt asked after Blaine slammed their home phone down._

_“No one, just an annoying telemarketer.” He said as he walked back into the room. His smile was t_ _ightly etched on his face, though Kurt didn’t think to question it._

Now that he thought about it, it was weird that Sam and Blaine had even become friends in the first place. Blaine hated that Kurt had talked about Sam even before he began dating Blaine. At the time he thought it was because Blaine assumed he had a crush on Sam and was jealous. Once again, Sam definitely did not like Blaine. Especially after the choir room incident. Kurt had no idea what was going on in Sam’s head during his senior year, if Kurt had to guess Sam missed home and all of his friends were gone. So he had to adapt, Sam almost seemed like his old self after he chose Kurt after he called off the engagement. 

“Kurt, are you home?” Blaine called out, forcing Kurt out of his head. It also caused his body to stiffen and for him to drop the ornament he was holding. The sound of the glass breaking on the floor snapped him out of his head quickly. It also caused panic to fill his head and all the air in the room disappear. It took a second to know which ornament he dropped, it was the bowtie one Blaine's mother bought him. 

_Kurt laughed as Blaine spun him around in the kitchen. Blaine was singing along to All I Want For Christmas, despite the fact it was the middle of June._

_"Come on Kurt, sing with me." Blaine laughed, spinning him again. He then let go of his hand and headed to the cabinet, grabbing a bottle of champagne. When Kurt noticed this he instantly went to grab two glasses._

_"Get the good ones, I feel like celebrating tonight." Blaine instructed. Kurt did as he was asked and placed them on the counter._

_"Celebrating what?" Kurt asked, laughing softly. Blaine poured their drinks before setting the bottle next to the glasses._

_"Us, what else do I need to celebrate?" He asked, giving Kurt one of his charming smiles._

"I'm in here." Kurt called back, instantly picking up the larger shards. He was silently hoping that Blaine would head anywhere but the living room. Those hopes vanished when he heard the familiar sound of Blaine's shoes heading to the room. His heart sank when he realized that he would have very little time to pick up the smaller shards off the rug. 

_Blaine took both glasses and handed Kurt one of them. The two laughed and began singing another romantic Christmas song, along with simple slow dancing to go with it._

_"You, my dear husband, are truly a wonder." Blaine said as he began to spin Kurt again. Before the spinning got to out of hand he took the glass from Kurt's hand and placed it on the kitchen counter._

Kurt held his breath as he tried to pick up the last few shards, there was not enough time to grab the vacuum. Though he might as well have grabbed it since the shards were scratching up his fingers as he tried to hold them all. His heart pounded in his chest as he listened for his husband. Luckily it seemed like maybe Blaine had headed to the kitchen instead. Though that only bought him a few more minutes to get the glass into a trash can.

"Kurt, why are you on the floor?" Blaine laughed when he opened the door. Or not. Kurt instantly felt his heart stop and looked up. His first instinct is to lie and tell him nothing was wrong, but Blaine would see the blood. Even if he didn’t notice his hands he would eventually notice that the bowtie ornament wasn’t on the tree.

_Blaine sighed and shook his head when he saw the broken glass on the ground. Kurt had accidentally knocked over one of their champagne glasses and it had shattered when it hit the ground._

_“I’m sorry.” He instantly said, hoping that the good mood would be enough for Blaine to not blow this out of proportion._

_“No, it’s okay. People make mistakes right?” He asked as he walked over to where Kurt was._

“I was cleaning.” Kurt started and Blaine’s eyes instantly went to their Christmas tree. For the first time in their marriage, Kurt was suddenly very happy that his dad had asked to keep his mother's Christmas ornaments.

“Kurt, how many times do I have to tell you to be careful?” Blaine asked, moving closer to where Kurt was. Kurt instinctively squeezed his fingers into his hand and gasped when he felt the glass cut into his hand. Blaine's eyes darted to his hand 

_“You just need to learn to be more careful.” Blaine said before pushing Kurt roughly. Kurt instantly tried to grab onto the counter so he didn’t fall, but it was no use. With Blaine getting closer he was also trying to step back, making him lose his balance and falling onto the floor._

“You never learn.” Blaine shook his head before holding his hand out to him. Kurt grabbed it with his unwounded hand and let the other man pull him to wherever. It was easier that way, maybe this time he would only get yelled at. 

_“Why are you so stupid? When I married you I didn’t think I’d have to hide all of our nice things so you don’t ruin it.” Blaine said, his voice sounded more annoyed than anything. He didn’t even look mad, at least not to Kurt._

Maybe if he bought him a new one then Blaine wouldn't be mad enough to break something of his. 

_Kurt laid on his side, brought his knees to his chest, and covered his neck as he tried to kneel his head to his knees. Blaine kicked his side repeatedly as he screamed at him._

Maybe this time things won't go the way they did last time he broke something that Blaine saw as one of their nicer things. Blaine ended up pulling him into the bathroom and shoved Kurt over to the toilet. 

"Sit there while I get the first aid kit." Blaine grumbled, kneeling down to look under the sink. He pulled out cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, and the bag they had with bandages, band-aids, Neosporin, and gauze. 

"I can-" Kurt started but the look Blaine shot him told him to shut up and let him do what he needed to. Luckily the cuts didn't seem that deep and they weren't big at all. All Blaine had to do was clean the cuts and wrap his hand. As soon as he finished bandaging his hand Blaine kissed the back of Kurt's hand before standing up. Kurt's eyes never left his hand which was his first mistake. Without warning he felt his husband slap his face, causing Kurt to look right up at him. 

"What, no thank you? I didn't even yell at you for your stupid mistake. You can be so ungrateful. I could have easily left you to clean up, and knowing you somehow you would mess that up." Blaine began to rant. Kurt tried to tune him out, which was his second mistake. 

"What is wrong with you today? Are you even listening to me?" Blaine demanded. When Kurt started to nod Blaine dug his fingers into the cuts on his hand. 

"Don't you lie to me! I should have known you'd turn out to be a liar, to bad you're terrible at it. It's no wonder that you never made it on Broadway. How could you be an actor if you can't even be a convincing liar?" Blaine asked, his voice was practically begging Kurt to respond. Kurt wanted desperately to respond as though it were one of his old bullies in highschool. The only difference is that Kurt now had to live with his bully. When Kurt didn't respond Blaine was apparently satisfied enough with the situation, so he moved towards the door. 

"Go clean up your fucking mess." He spat before leaving Kurt sitting on the toilet seat. When he was sure that Blaine wasn't coming back he stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. There were no tears this time, which was good. If he had to answer the door again he wouldn't have to explain red, puffy eyes. He would have to explain his red cheek that had purple undertones. He hadn't even realized that Blaine had hit him that hard. Once he was sure that there was not to much damage he put away their medical things and headed out to the living room to clean up the rest of the glass and any blood that had gotten on the carpet. 

Somehow there was no other incidents from the moment he got the living room cleaned until almost ten that night. They ate dinner at home together for the first time in months. Blaine didn't complain about any of it and even offered to clean up after they were done. They then settled in for a movie, which Blaine let Kurt pick. For a moment Kurt almost forgot about being hit and his injured hand. Then Blaine began to kiss Kurt's neck. 

"Mhh not tonight babe." Kurt said, laughing nervously as he scooted over a little. Blaine scooted over as well so he was still close to him. He then attempted to resume kissing the boy's neck but Kurt pushed his chest enough for him to scoot over without Blaine following him. 

"Blaine, not tonight. My hand hurts and the-" Blaine grabbed Kurt's wrist and pulled him over to him. 

"Come on, it's been forever." Blaine said, his voice lowering. He then tried to kiss Kurt but the taller man scooted as far away from the shorter man as he could. 

"No, Blaine. I already told you, I am in way too much pain to do anything tonight." Kurt said, his voice rasing. He waited for a reaction but Blaine didn't look at him. He didn't speak at first, he was probably baffled that Kurt had even said anything at all. This was not good, maybe if he took it back the other wouldn't be mad tomorrow. Things weren't great today but there was still time to fix this. 

“Fine, if you’re going to be like that then I’m going to bed.” Blaine said, standing up. Kurt didn’t look at him as the other man headed to their room. He knew deep down that if he didn’t leave soon then he would never leave. He also knew that tomorrow was going to be worse than today had been. Blaine would be upset about today for the next few days at least, the next few weeks if he wasn’t lucky. 

“You can do this. You can do this.” Kurt mumbled to himself as he got up. He kept mumbling the four words to himself as he headed to their guest bedroom. Instead of climbing into the bed like he would do any other night that Blaine had been mad, he pulled out the burner phone he hid in the drawer. 

_“Why would we want a fake bottom in a drawer? Even if it was needed why would I want one in a nightstand?” Kurt asked Finn. The taller boy shrugged and went back to working on setting it up._

_“It might come in handy, plus this only has one drawer. No one will notice that something is off about it.” Finn explained. Kurt didn’t argue, even if they didn’t need it there was still no harm in having it._

_“Just, don’t tell Blaine about it.” Finn said after he glued one of the pieces of wood into the bottom of the drawer._

_“Why not? We don’t keep secrets.” Kurt said, squinting his eyes slightly at Finn._

_“Look man, there are some things that you don’t need to talk about with him. This is a way that you can keep your secrets.” Finn explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kurt didn’t argue and Finn continued working on the drawer._

“Thank you Finn.” Kurt whispered, staring at the phone in his hand. He didn’t know who he should call, Carol and his dad were obvious choices and if he wanted to actually escape this then he couldn’t be found. A few more people came to mind but he quickly squashed the ideas. Adam was back in his home country and he couldn’t just leave the country without setting alarms off. Blaine would notice him getting a passport, and if he didn’t he would definitely notice that Kurt came home later than usual. Elliot and Dani were also out, but that was more due to them living to close. He hadn’t even told them that he was leaving, though only his boss knew that he was planning on running. That was just so Blaine didn’t find out where he was going. 

“Come on, think. There has to be someone.” Kurt mumbled as he tried to remember phone numbers and where the people ended up. He didn’t trust Santana to not get involved, he hadn’t spoken to Rachel since her and Finn’s divorce, and Finn was again an obvious choice. Well, maybe it wasn’t. At least, maybe there was someone that he could call that wasn’t obvious. Kurt found himself dialing a number he had to have dialed more times than he could count. Then the phone rang and he felt his heart stop. What if they don’t pick up? What if they changed their number? What if they don’t-

“Hello?” He heard the familiar voice say. Kurt felt his eyes watering as he tried to remember how to breathe. 

“Hello, is anyone there?” Kurt closed his eyes and tried to take deep breaths to calm down. Eventually, his voice came back to him.

“I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is out of character I apologize now. With that, I tried my best to keep Blaine as in character as possible despite him being, well, this. I've mostly been wanting to get back into writing glee fanfics and I've also been wanting to write something dark. So here we are, hope y'all are interested. 
> 
> There is no planned schedule for this, between school and a potential job, life has been chaotic. Still, I needed to get this story out. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, as are comments and kudos!


	2. Just Another Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are flashbacks and there is domestic violence in this chapter.

Kurt silently counted the seconds that passed without any noise on the other end. At first, he worried that he hadn't actually said anything. Then he began to wonder if the other person on the phone hung up, he wouldn't blame them. Not after how things ended. After three seconds, which felt like three hours to the brunet, he heard rustling on the other end then the person finally spoke.

“Kurt?” Just like that Kurt felt the weight of the world fall off his shoulders. He let himself shed the tears he was holding back and he laughed from relief. 

“It is so good to hear your voice." He softly admits. Hearing them was like a breath of fresh air after being suffocated. He could hear the other person laugh which brought a small smile to his face. Why did he let this go badly? 

“I bet, so how’s my little brother doing?” Kurt snorted and shook his head, it was like nothing had changed. Except everything has changed, he hasn't spoken to Finn ever since the taller boy punched Blaine in the face. Not that Blaine didn't deserve it, he got weirdly mouthy when he drank. It didn't help that it was the Thanksgiving after Finn and Rachel's divorce. 

“I’m older than you by four months Finn.” Kurt said in a teasing tone, or what he assumed was one. He could hear Finn snort on the other end and someone talking in the background. Kurt slightly recognized the voice, though it was too muttered for him to actually place the voice or the words that were being said. He did hear Finn tell the person he was talking to him, maybe Finn was with dad and Carole? 

"Sorry, I'm playing Halo with a friend from the academy." Finn explained. Kurt nodded, remembering what it was that Finn did for a living. Maybe calling Finn was not the best thing to do, he would have more reason to report anything Kurt told him. 

"Right." Kurt sighed. He could hear more shuffling on Finn's end and ran a hand through his hair. What was he even doing, running to his brother because he couldn't handle this? It felt like he was tattling to a teacher because Blaine stuck gum in his hair. He wasn't a kid anymore, he didn't need his brother to fight his battles. 

“Why do you need help?” Finn finally asked. Kurt could have sworn that he felt his heart suddenly stop. He did not expect Finn to actually ask.

"Kurt?" Finn called and Kurt tried to say something, anything. Well, not the obvious, he couldn't tell him point-blank that his husband has been physically abusing him for years and that it probably dated back to high school. Everything inside of him screamed to just tell Finn the truth but there was a small part of him that justified Blaine's actions. The same part that took over whenever the cops showed up from a noise complaint. It was like when he opened his mouth excuses came out before the reason he was making the excuse. 

“The things that dad didn’t like about Blaine when they met-” 

_“I’m just saying Kurt, he seems a little pushy.” Burt warns._

“-The things you were worried about-” 

_“He broke your heart Kurt. He cheated on you then said it was your fault. Are you sure that you want to go through with this?” Finn exclaimed._

“-They all got worse.” Kurt said, his voice was barely audible and it was shaking. He silently hoped that Finn would understand. He also hoped that Finn didn’t. That he would just stay far away from this whole thing and leave Kurt to handle it alone. Though with his luck Finn knew exactly what he was trying to tell him. He probably got these calls all the time. Lord knows that Carole came home with the horror stories about women with broken noses and black eyes. He recalled one story about a woman who begged them not to call the police because it would only get worse. Was he one of them? Was he just like that woman who went back even though she had an out?

“What do you need me to do?” Finn asked, breaking Kurt out of his dwelling. He didn’t know, he hadn’t planned on actually calling someone. He didn’t plan on the person picking up the phone. He definitely didn’t plan on calling someone who picked up and wanted to help him. Yet here he was. 

“I-uh-somewhere to go? I can’t call mom or dad, and I don’t know if anyone-” Kurt started rambling on but Finn quickly caught on and began trying to calm him down. 

“Okay, okay, okay. You can stay with me. I mean, if you don’t mind bunking with me or sleeping on the couch until you get on your feet. Sam and I are sort of renting an apartment together.” Finn said. Kurt winced at the mention of another person getting involved, though it wasn’t all that unwelcomed. Sam was a good guy and wouldn’t rat him out to Blaine, or so he hoped. 

“Of course I’m okay with that. I just need to actually, you know…” Kurt trailed off. Finn seemed to know what he meant though since he hummed in response.

“Mom always said that leaving seems to be the hardest part. From what I've seen, she wasn't lying.” Finn said and Kurt nodded, though he was internally wincing. Maybe he was like them. He could practically hear some of the kids from high school laughing at him due to this, that he was actually a chick after all. He should be able to handle this, he fought those guys who killed that guy in the ally way. Plus Blaine was shorter than him and Kurt could easily run faster than the other man. There was no-

“Kurt.” Finn said, making his thoughts stop in their tracks for the second time that night. 

“Yeah?” He asked softly. 

“You’re doing the right thing. I won’t tell Sam by the way. The reason why you’re moving in.” Finn said. Kurt nodded and sniffled slightly, they were doing this. 

“Okay. Don’t call this number, I don’t want to risk Blaine-” Kurt started and Finn made a noise in confirmation. 

“I promise. Now go to sleep, it’s like one in the morning where you’re at.” Finn said. Kurt told Finn goodnight before hanging up the phone. All Kurt could think as he was falling asleep was that he was actually going to get out. 

_Blaine kept walking closer, trying to get up in his face. Kurt walked backward, stumbling as he did so. He could smell the alcohol on Blaine's breath, his eyes were red. Though if that was from the drinking or the anger was anyone’s guess._

_“Blaine, stop!” Kurt yelled as he tried to push him away from him. Blaine glared and shoved him, making Kurt stumble over his feet._

_“Blaine, stop.” Blaine mocked, shoving Kurt harder. This time Kurt landed on the floor._

_“What are you going to do if I don’t?”Blaine sneered. He gave Kurt’s stomach a sharp kick which instantly had Kurt wrapping his arms to protect his neck._

_“I-I’ll-” Kurt started but his mouth was running faster than his head. What could he do? He couldn’t stop him._

_“Y-you’ll what?” Blaine asked in a condescending voice. Kurt looked up at him straight in the eyes._

_“I’ll leave.” He said, his voice shaking. He had no idea where that thought came from but it should be enough to make Blaine stop._

_“I’ll leave and I will file for a divorce.” He said, his voice was a little more confident. Blaine instantly kicked straight at his mouth. Kurt cried out in pain and tried to move so Blaine couldn’t do it again._

_“If you leave-” Blaine started, kicking him in the stomach again, “-I’ll kill you.” He finished, kicking his leg._

_“Death do you part. Remember, and then I will kill myself. I can’t go to jail after all.” He said, stepping down on Kurt’s side._

_“Not that you have to worry about it. You’ll never leave. You don’t have the courage.” Blaine laughed._

When Kurt woke up his heart was racing. He felt like he was sweating despite the fact their guest room was always freezing, especially in the winter. After a few minutes, and plenty of deep breaths, Kurt was able to think about the events that happened the night before. Blaine being pissed due to him breaking the ornament, things going well until Blaine decided he wanted sex, him calling Finn. It all felt like a dream, a long horrific dream that ended in hope. Like a dream though, it all felt too unrealistic. 

“Are you going to sleep all day?” Blaine called from outside the door. Kurt winced and crawled out of the bed. He spotted the burner phone on the nightstand and quickly deleted the call history before putting it back where it came from, ensuring that everything had gone back where it was supposed to. Blaine didn't sound mad, which was weird. Still, he was not going to risk anything today.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” Kurt called back to Blaine. If he was lucky his husband would be in a good mood. So, he made sure that the bed was made and that nothing was out of place. When he was sure that there was nothing that Blaine would notice he headed out of the room. Once he did he noticed that he smelled blueberry pancakes and freshly brewed coffee. He couldn't remember the last time that Blaine had made breakfast.

“Good morning honey.” Kurt greeted as he entered the kitchen. Blaine looked over and smiled brightly. 

“Good morning, baby.” He said cheerfully, flipping the pancake he was working on. 

"Can I do anything to help?" Kurt asked carefully, he did not want to mess up one of Blaine's better moods. Especially since he didn't go to bed with him last night. 

"No, I got it. Why don't you go get the paper, I should have everything ready when you get back." Blaine said. Kurt nodded slowly and headed out of the kitchen to the door. He briefly wondered if he had heard Kurt talking to Finn last night. Maybe he was doing this because he didn't want Kurt to leave. Which would make some sense except the last time Blaine thought he was leaving he, well, almost made Kurt leave permanently. That hospital visit lasted almost a month, and it was made Kurt cut off his dad and Carole. They didn't buy the excuse Blaine made, not that he could remember what it even was anymore.

When Kurt came back with the newspaper Blaine had the table set for two and both of their plates were filled with fruit and pancakes. He handed Blaine the paper and sat down at his spot, which also had a mug full of coffee.

"What's all this for?" Kurt asked, trying to not sound suspicious. Blaine continued to smile as he sat at his spot.

"It is my way of saying I was very out of line last night. I know that you wouldn’t purposefully break my ornament.” He said, reaching out to grab Kurt's hand. Kurt wanted to protest, to tell him that it was alright. That there was no reason to apologize, but he knew that it wasn’t okay. That Blaine did need to apologize, he didn’t understand why he was still excusing it. Was that even an apology?

“I uh-” Kurt started and Blaine smiled. 

“How about I pick you up from work today? We can go out to dinner, make an evening out of it.” Blaine suggested. Kurt found himself nodding and smiling. 

“Alright, that sounds lovely.” Kurt said, and he meant it. Blaine gave him a wide smile and a quick peck. 

“Perfect. I’ll see you then, I have to get going, I have an early meeting today with my editor.” Blaine said before heading out of the room. Kurt nodded and waved goodbye. His head was swimming with ideas of where Blaine would be taking him and where this sudden good mood came from. He wasn’t going to complain, but it did worry him. The last time they went out to dinner wasn’t pretty. It ended with the police being called due to a noise complaint, and Blaine getting drunk. He then heard the car start and sighed. Blaine was gone, meaning if he actually wanted to plan he had to start then. Luckily he had another hour before he had to leave, an hour and a half if he could catch a cab to the subway. It was then he noticed that Blaine had not only left his food but a mess in the kitchen. 

"Even when he's being nice." Kurt mumbled before taking a bite of his food. He would deal with this when he was done eating. 

Two hours later and Kurt had fully cleaned up, packed himself a lunch, caught the subway, and was on time for work. Nothing eventful actually happened until his lunch break. Before he was able to run off and eat his boss called him into her office. 

"What's going on, did I do something wrong?" Kurt asked when she closed the door. He tried to remember everything he did that day, though he couldn't think of a reason why she would want to see him. At least, not work-related reasons.

"No, no, just sit down, please. We need to talk about, you know, that thing you told me about last month." She said. Kurt nodded and headed to the chair in front of her desk. His boss took her usual chair and moved the computer so Kurt could also see the screen. 

"I have been emailing some people out in Ohio to see if I could help you get another job out there." She explained. Kurt stayed quiet but listened as she told him about the few places that were offering to help out. Some were not close to where Finn was at all, though there were some places out in Columbus and Westerville. He would need to get a car but once he did he could make the drive with little to no issue. Though at this point he would work at his dad's old garage if he absolutely needed to, not that he would mind working in there. He kept up his certification all these years anyway, might as well use it.

"Thank you, really, I appreciate this." Kurt said when she finally finished talking about the different opportunities. She gave him a reassuring smile which made him feel somewhat better about this whole thing. 

"Also, I would recommend taking the bus. It may be longer but there is less of a paper trail." She told him. For a brief moment Kurt wanted to slap himself, how was he going to even leave the state. He has the place to go and maybe a job but he actually needs to leave. That includes packing and while he has been keeping track of documents and has his personal things locked away in a safe that was hidden in a storage unit, that doesn't mean he was ready to actually leave.

"Breathe. Kurt, you need to breathe." She coaxed. Kurt nodded and listened. Once his breathing was under control he ended up telling her that he couldn't do this. 

"It's no use, even if I take the bus. I mean I am moving out to Ohio. He knows where my dad's old shop is. He knows where I used to live. If I am seen by someone then they might blab. I don't know who is still in contact with him. I might as well stay with him, it will save us both the trouble of him going out there to get me." Kurt said. Both of them knew or at least had an idea about what would happen if Blaine got him once he left.

"Look at me, you need to get out. I've been helping you keep track of every injury and helped you set this up. I helped you set up another email address, I got you the burner phone that you will throw away at either the airport or the bus stop. I can get you new clothes, I can get you whatever it is that you need when you get to Ohio. What I can't do is be the one to drag you away." She reminds him. Kurt nodded and told her about last night and the next morning. Like all the previous times this last month, she took pictures of the new injuries and sent them to the new email address that she had set up for him. She then gave him some water and a few minutes to calm down. 

"Just because he is being your good husband this morning doesn't mean it will stay that way Kurt." She tells him before he left the office. Kurt nodded and gave her a sad smile. 

"I know that logically. The messed up part is that I love him enough to hope this time he will stop." Kurt whispered to her as he left her office. For the rest of the day, Kurt thought about what she told him. He knew that she was right about the bus and quickly pondered about getting a ticket. He also wondered if maybe his boss knew of an attorney that would be willing to help him. Before the day was out he emailed her about the attorney and by the time he had to clock out all his focus was on getting that bus ticket. Then he saw Blaine in the lobby.

Like he had promised Blaine was there, holding a bag and bouquet of flowers, in the lobby. Kurt found himself smiling as he walked over to him. All the thoughts that were plaguing his mind were gone. 

"They are beautiful." Kurt said happily, forgetting his boss's words entirely. Blaine chuckled and handed Kurt the bag first. 

"I saw it in the window and I just had to buy it for you." Blaine said as Kurt opened the bag. Inside was a scarf and a box. When he opened the box he saw a gold necklace with a warbler perched on a branch. 

"The necklace, of course, I saw the scarf when I was looking for your flowers." Blaine said. Kurt gave Blaine a forced smile, there was a word for what Blaine was doing right now. 

"I love it. Thank you." He said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Blaine smiled and led him out of the doors of the lobby.

"Now I was thinking we would go to that new Thai food place. The one a block from the subway." Blaine said. Kurt found himself agreeing even though he knew that it would be a pain for them to carry the flowers and any leftovers they had on the subway. Though they could call a cab if absolutely necessary. Not that Blaine would do that, he would say they needed the exercise. 

_"I don't like the way I feel about myself anymore Kurt. Okay, and you have this, like, amazing new body. Do you want to know why we haven't been intimate? It's because I feel insecure around you. I feel insecure around my own fiance and fratboyphysicals.com isn't gonna judge me."_

"It shouldn't be that far." Blaine said, taking his hand. Kurt smiled and let Blaine whisk him away to the restaurant. Once they were there they ordered and talked about their days. Well, Blaine talked, Kurt listened and offered polite input and responded how Blaine would want him to. 

"Mhh, Kurt, you have to try this." Blaine said, taking another bite of his food. Kurt shook his head and took a bite of his own food. 

"No thanks, I am quite content with my food. Plus I had a big lunch." Kurt said. Blaine stared at him as though he were trying to figure out what is going on with him. Kurt instantly could hear Blaine shouting about him cheating, even though he never did. Though Blaine didn't do anything this time, instead he looked back at his food and took another bite.

"If you're sure." Blaine said once he swallowed. Kurt nodded and took a sip of his water. The night was going well, which stressed him out more than if Blaine had made a scene. Except he had a new book coming out, so maybe he was going to save it until they got home. 

"So, what did your publisher have to say?" Kurt asked, which seemed to make Blaine happy since he went on and on about how wonderful things seemed to be going. The book should be printed by the end of the month and they expected it to be as successful as the last one. 

"So, to celebrate, I thought I would get us some dessert." Blaine said as the waitress came over. Kurt gave Blaine an awkward smile and let him order for them. It was as though he could already hear the plate breaking or see the stains on their clothes. 

"Sounds wonderful." He tried, which Blaine seemed to approve of since he went on about the parties he was invited to and which ones Kurt had to go to. The next one was in two weeks so Kurt, of course, had to get them brand new suits. 

"I'll write you a check on Friday so you can get them. I will also leave my measurements. I think I went down another pant size." Blaine bragged. Kurt bit the inside of his cheek, stopping himself from telling Blaine that this dinner would likely put him back to where he was if he planned on eating both the chocolate mousse and the icecream he ordered for himself. Luckily dessert came and went and the two of them were heading home. Blaine surprised him by getting them a cab and Kurt knew there was no way something was not waiting for him at home. Yet nothing came once they got there. Instead, Blaine kissed him and led him to their bedroom. 

"Tonight was perfect." Blaine said before kissing him again. Unlike the night before, Kurt went along with it. He knew by now it would be easier to go along than fight it two nights in a row. Like always Blaine ended up falling asleep right after and Kurt laid in the bed, staring at the ceiling. He waited silently for Blaine's breathing to deepen before he attempted to get out of bed. Once he heard the soft snores to start he slipped out of the bed.

As he headed to the office he tried to recall everything he needed to do. Getting a train ticket was a must, luckily it would probably be cheaper in the long run for this route. Especially a one-way ticket and one that was right after the holidays. He also needed to get himself a new suitcase and to grab everything from the storage locker he had rented out. He already had a separate bank account, which helped him a ton at that moment. Though, it was also the reason Blaine and him fought so much at the start of their marriage, also one of the many reasons Blaine picked fights with him lately. Granted, there was also the shared account that he knew he would not be getting anything from. 

Once he got to their office he checked his email and saw that his boss sent him the contact info for the attorney. He quickly wrote it all down and deleted the emails. Then he purchased a bus ticket that would leave for the following Saturday. He could survive for ten days. He just hoped that by then he had all the paperwork he needed to be filled out and that his boss or the attorney would serve Blaine. Either way, he would be in Columbus by then and he would be free. This would work. It had to if he was ever going to be free from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is earlier than Sunday, which I told someone else I'd post this on. However, I got the job and this is a present to myself :)
> 
> With that, constructive criticism is always welcomed. So are comments and kudos.


	3. Everybody Needs Somebody

The next morning Kurt developed a plan. He would spread all the things he needed throughout the next ten days, including getting in contact with the few people he still had in the city. It would be better if he had at least those people to watch his back while he prepared to leave. Worst case scenario he would need to leave early and he wasn't sure if he could stay in a hotel near the station for more than a couple of nights. Either way, no one knew what Blaine was going to do next. Sometimes Kurt wondered if Blaine knew what he would do next. 

"Morning, babe." Blaine said, kissing Kurt's head as he walked towards the coffee machine. Apparently, this morning Blaine decided he wanted to keep up the good mood. 

"Good morning." Kurt said, forcing himself to smile. When his husband didn't continue to talk Kurt looked back down at the empty sheet of paper in front of him. While he wasn't going to actually write down his to-do list, it was nice to visualize it being written down.

"What did that paper do to deserve that look?" Blaine asked, his tone was light. Kurt blinked a couple of times before looking back up at his husband. 

"Nothing, I'm just trying to plan out next week." He said, it was not a lie so there would be no reason for Blaine to push.

"Oh, well remember that you'll need to get the suits by next Friday." Blaine said, to which Kurt absently wrote it down along with the grocery store and what his hours would normally look like at work. Maybe Blaine would assume this was his actual schedule for the next few days and not be too worried if he wasn't home at a normal time. Luckily Blaine headed out a few minutes later, something about a meeting with his editor and publicist. Once he heard the engine he was able to actually breathe. He also grabbed a new paper and started writing out the things he needed to do for the next ten days. 

On day one, he needed to go meet with the attorney his boss found. He also decided that he would call up the three people he thought could help him in the state. One of those things would be much easier than not. Lucky, or unlucky depending on how you looked at it, for him he had the day off. His appointment with the attorney was at 12:30, which meant he had a few hours to make those calls. After he finished writing his list of things he needed to do that day he stuffed it into his pocket and headed out the door. He needed to use a phone that Blaine didn't have access to if he was actually wanted to get back in contact with those people-

"Kurt?" A voice said as he headed to the subway station. Kurt turned around and saw a familiar-looking man walking towards him. Kurt mentally checked off one of the three people in his head before smiling at him.

"Chandler." He said, not fully believing that he was there. 

"Hi, how are you? I saw you and I was thinking that maybe, but then I thought no way, and well I just had to try. Good thing I did cause it was you walking on by." Chandler rambled, instantly reminding Kurt of when they met. It was nice to see that the man standing in front of him hadn't changed much. 

"It is good to see you again. Look I am sorry about how things ended back in high school-" He started, making Chandler's face fall. 

"Yeah, that sucked. I am not going to deny that. I get it though, I was out of line. I just wanted to make you smile, you looked so sad back in that store." He said. Kurt tried to remember what was even going on back then, it felt like a millennia ago.

"Do you maybe want to get coffee?" Kurt asked, which Chandler immediately agreed to. The two of them headed to the closest coffee shop and picked a seat far away from the windows. While Kurt knew Blaine didn't do coffee while doing business, he did also know that Blaine was known to skip these meetings if he was suspicious. 

"You never told me how you've been." Chandler eventually said when they were settled in their spot. Kurt sighed and looked away from his old friend. 

"There is no easy way saying this. Erm, I guess not great. I am kind of leaving my husband." Kurt said awkwardly. He wasn't sure what the man was expecting but he was sure that this was not it. Still, his face remained friendly and there was no sign of him being uncomfortable. Instead, he reached for Kurt's hand and squeezed it when Kurt returned the action. 

"Want to tell me about it?" He asked and Kurt nodded. 

"This isn't exactly the first time I've tried to leave." Kurt admits before taking another sip of his drink. This was the first time he was going to be able to actually say any of this to someone. His boss didn't need to hear it, she saw his face. Finn was the only other person to know about it. 

"What do you mean by try?" The blond asked. Right, Chandler was there around the beginning of this, before Kurt ever tried to leave Blaine. 

"I-before we got married we had broken up twice. I broke up with him both times and if I am being honest I was pressured into getting back with him both times. The first time he wore me down with empty promises and a public proposal. The second time we got together we ended up married by the end of the week. This was at two of our friend's wedding." Kurt said, mentally adding that this was just in the dating part. Chandler seemed to know that he was leaving something out. Kurt could see him raising an eyebrow but he didn't ask. He squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

"And now?" Kurt sighed and took another sip of his drink. This was not as easy as he had hoped it would be. 

"This would be the fifth time I've tried to leave. This time I am getting out." Kurt said after a deep breath. He was going to be successful, this time he had people in his corner. This time he wasn't going to worry about peer pressure from old friends from high school. This time Blaine had no leg to stand on. 

"Wait fifth?" Chandler asked. Now that he thought about it, he could have worded that slightly better. Yeah, he mentioned the two breakups but he could have said that wasn't the last time he tried to leave Blaine. He was also glad that he didn't seem to think this was ridiculous. 

"Yeah, um so the third time happened after my brother and his ex-wife's divorce. He came over for Thanksgiving and Blaine gave him shit for leaving her. Anyway, long story short, Blaine ended up pushing him over the edge and Finn punched him in the face." Kurt explained, trying his best not to remember that night. At least Chandler was slightly familiar with who he was talking about. They had done more talking than the few text messages that Blaine saw. 

"Is that what pushed you to want to leave? Your brother punching your husband in the face?" He wished that was all it took, nope. That event just led to the worst month of his marriage. 

"No, actually Finn came over a week after it happened. He was letting me know that he was moving back home, I mean to Ohio. He also told me that he was there for me. I guess between the news that he was leaving, that he was becoming a cop, I thought maybe he was trying to tell me something. That night I mentioned wanting to visit with my stepmom and dad to Blaine. He, well, he didn't take it well." Kurt said, wincing slightly. That was the first time he even mentioned divorce to Blaine. It was also the first time Blaine threatened to kill him if he left. 

"Jesus. What about the last time?" He could tell that Chandler was starting to become worried. Kurt hated that it only got worse from there.

"Well, that one was more recent. Maybe a year ago. Blaine desperately wanted a kid but I thought it was a bad idea. To make a long story short he decided to make it happen without my knowledge. I guess he was pretty bad at math since the woman he knocked up was defiantly much bigger than she should have been at four months along." Kurt explained, purposely leaving out that the woman had once been his friend and that Blaine still kept contact with her even if Kurt didn't. He saw the text messages, though that was by accident. Which led to yet another fight with Blaine. 

"Why did you stay?" Chandler finally asked. Kurt did not have an answer. He had so many chances but he always came back.

"I don't know. I was on my way to see the divorce lawyer and he met me there. Instead of screaming at me like I thought he would, he apologized. He told me that he was the one who was wrong and that he loved me so much. The next few months he made me forget that he wasn't the boy I met in high school." Kurt ended up saying. Chandler stood up and moved to where Kurt was. He then bent down to give him a hug, which Kurt immediately returned. He couldn't remember the last time someone hugged him like that. 

"If you need anything, just tell me. Okay?" Chandler mumbled. Kurt nodded and squeezed him a little harder. Internally he was hoping that the other two people would be this willing to hear him out and listen. 

After Chandler left the coffee shop Kurt went and saw the attorney. Their meeting did not last all that long and Kurt found out some good news and bad news. The good news was that, one he was able to use the phone, and two that he could leave the state. The papers would be filed before Kurt had to leave and as long as he was able to come back down to the state for the court dates he would be fine. The bad news was that this was not going to be an easy diverse. 

"I hate to tell you this but the best we could hope for is seven months. Even if both of you agree on everything it will take a lot. Luckily there are no children involved and it sounds like you aren't going to try to get anything from him." He was told. He understands what wasn't said in that statement though, seven months was if Blaine didn't try to fight him on this. 

Once the meeting finished he called Dani and Elliot for the first time in years. Needless to say that both of them were irritated that it took him this long to reach out. They both agreed to help him out though. Dani would meet up with him during his lunch break the next day to help him get some decent luggage that they would hide at her place. Elliot would meet up with him on that Monday to deal with his storage unit when Kurt was off work. Dani also agreed to print out his bus ticket and hold onto it. When Kurt got home that night he felt lighter than ever. 

The next few days went as planned. Dani did meet up with him and they picked out two suitcases and a backpack. One of the suitcases would stay at her house until Kurt packed his things. They would then swap them out incase Blaine noticed the suitcase and started snooping. The backpack could be explained away with Kurt's job being close to a farmer's market. Kurt then went through their basement to get the things he couldn't live without. While he went through it he found the prom queen crown, a photo album, and a small painting Sam had made him his senior year. Sam had been so excited that Kurt liked it, he had never seen the blond smile so brightly. Once Kurt finished going through everything he made sure to put the things he wanted to keep in another box. This would go into the storage unit until he was sure what he could do with them. He briefly noted to call Elliot about him shipping the things he couldn't bring with him. At least after he found a place to stay. 

On day four Blaine started to suspect something was up. That morning when he and Kurt were eating breakfast he kept on staring at him, which sent shivers down Kurt's spine. Though he thought nothing of it until Blaine started talking. 

"You've been busy lately." He mentioned, which was not that off. Kurt nodded after he took a sip of his coffee, he briefly wondered if him being busy was weird. 

"Yeah, you know that work gets busy around this time of year." He said. Blaine shrugged as he cut up his ham. 

"I know but you've been coming home late and you have been tired lately. I am just worried." Blaine's words seem nice but his tone was almost accusatory. Kurt flinched and thought back to who he could have been seen with. Blaine didn't work close to the place he got the suitcases and he should have been at work when he met with Chandler. He also hadn't been calling them unless he was away from the house and on a phone Blaine didn't have the access to the records for. He hadn't used the burner since he called Finn for that reason. 

"I'm trying to get back into shape. So I've been taking the long way home from the subway." Kurt said, hoping that it would be enough for Blaine to let this drop. Blaine's concerned look dropped and Kurt felt his heart drop. 

"Oh, okay. Well, how about you go back to taking the normal way. Okay?" Blaine asked, his eyes narrowing. Kurt nodded and looked back at his plate. This was going to complicate his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so originally this was supposed to be the chapter Kurt left. But it was taking a while, after all, ten days is a lot to get through. So he should be on the way back to Ohio by the end of the next chapter. Unless Blaine decides to complicate things ;) 
> 
> Comments are always welcomed especially constructive criticism. As are Kudos and bookmarks! If there are any questions please leave them in the comment section and I will answer anything that does not involve spoilers to the rest of the fic.


	4. Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, another heavy chapter. Also, again, italics mean that it is a memory. One last thing, my experience in New York is limited to the two days I was there in 2017. So bear with me on any inaccuracies. I relied mostly on a random mall website I found while writing this.

The rest of day four was both productive and a living nightmare. At first, Kurt found that he had no way of getting what he planned done. The plan had been he would go through the bookshelves, call the bank about getting his statements printed next week, and getting his files off of the computer. He could only do the bookshelf because Blaine apparently had the day off. Since Kurt also had the day off he had no excuse to leave the house and Blaine wouldn’t leave him alone in the office. He couldn’t even look up the bus schedule in Columbus, that would set off enough alarms for Blaine. They haven’t been back to Ohio in forever and they weren’t planning on heading out there anytime soon. After about an hour of Kurt looking at their bookcase, Blaine finally decided that they needed to get out of the house. 

“Come on, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, let’s go present shopping.” Blaine suggested. Kurt nodded, still looking at the bookcase. Blaine huffed and grabbed Kurt’s hand and pulled him towards the door. 

“Can I get my jacket first?” Kurt asked. Blaine huffed again but let go of Kurt’s hand so he could grab his jacket. He also made sure to grab his wallet, Blaine has been known to forget his at the most inconvenient moments. Once he was ready Blaine went back to dragging him out of the house and towards the subway station.

The ride itself did not take that long since they were practically heading from one part of Brooklyn to another. At least it was shorter than Kurt’s normal commute to work. On the downside, due to the date, there were more people out than usual and the mall, or wherever Blaine decided they had to be, would be crowded. 

“Where are we even going?” Kurt asked after Blaine pulled him off the subway. Blaine didn’t answer at first, instead, he pulled him up the stairs. Once they were back on the sidewalk Kurt instantly recognized where they were.

“Blaine, why did you want to go to a shopping center on Christmas Eve?” He asked. Blaine looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows. Kurt used to dub it as his sad puppy impression. Now it only made him irritated. 

“I thought you liked shopping.” He said, which was sort of true. Kurt sighed and shook his head, this was going to be a long day, he could already tell. 

“I do sweetie, I was just curious.” He responded, trying to keep the peace. Blaine’s smile returned to his face and he began to lead Kurt to the front of the large building. Even though it was still light outside he could practically see the large letters spelling Kings Plaza light up as they got closer. 

“I think we start by finding the Cinnabon and grab a treat. Then we can go find each other gifts.” Blaine explained. Kurt wanted to protest but he couldn’t think of a feasible reason to separate from Blaine. If he did though, he could head to Macys and get a few things. 

“That sounds great.” Kurt said, trying his best to smile. The two men stayed relatively quiet as Blaine tried to locate his favorite place to get a snack. Once the small stand was in sight Blaine let go of his hand and turned to look at him.

“You know what, Kurt, why don’t we meet up at three? That way we can keep our gifts a surprise.” Blaine suddenly suggested. Kurt didn’t question it and nodded. He waited for Blaine to leave before he headed in the direction of the store. There was one thing he knew he could get here to help with the packing process. He also could get himself some clothes that weren’t bought by Blaine. 

After about thirty minutes Kurt located the travel supplies. In that section, he was able to find himself compression bags, a three in one toiletry pack, and he found a travel wallet. While he normally would have searched for a better deal on all of these he knew he did not have the time to find a better option. Once he finished looking around the section he went to the clothes section and found himself a hoodie, a few comfy t-shirts, and sweatpants. If he was going to be on that bus for twelve hours then he was going to be comfortable. In addition to that, he knew Blaine wouldn’t instantly recognize Kurt if he didn’t dress as nicely as he normally did. 

_ “Why do you have on like a bajillion layers?” Kurt rolled his eyes as he buttoned his vest.  _

_ “I think the vest makes the shirt look better.” He explained. He looked around to find his tie, which apparently added to the bajillion layers if the sigh he heard meant anything. _

_ “Right, and it has nothing to do with Blaine coming over?”  _

Kurt quietly sighed as he left the store. He needed to find something for Blaine, at least something he could pass off as being Blaine’s since the man liked to snoop around. As he headed towards the Five Below he noticed his husband walking hand in hand with a man that was taller than him. The man in question had shoulder-length wavy blonde hair and seemed to be wearing a brown hoodie. At first Kurt thought he recognized the man, though he stopped caring the second he saw the tall man leaning down to kiss his husband. With that, he turned around and headed into the first store that he saw. 

“I can’t believe it.” Kurt whispered to himself. Though if he were telling himself the truth he saw it coming. He always knew that something like this would happen again, it wasn’t even the first time since he got married to the man did he cheat. This was just the second one he knew about. He could feel his skin crawl st the thought and the sad realization that he would need to get himself tested soon hit him soon after. 

“Get over it. You were leaving him anyway.” Kurt whispered to himself as he left the store. He wandered aimlessly for the rest of the time. He eventually got Blaine a shirt from Spencers, figuring that it was decent enough and Blaine would assume he was planning something else if he did end up finding the shirt. 

Despite him trying to remind himself that he was leaving anyway, Kurt was still mad about what he saw. The entire time they were eating at the mall through their travels home Kurt kept thinking about all the signs he missed. Blaine always had a higher libido than him, and the fact he wasn’t bothered by the lack of sex should have been the first clue. On top of that, his husband always was an attention seeker. Kurt hasn’t been his biggest fan in years. He should have known that Blaine wouldn't stay faithful. Still, he was furious. He was furious that despite him giving Blaine everything he had, it wasn't enough. 

"Hey, what's with the sad face? I thought you liked going shopping." Blaine asked, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist from behind. Kurt wanted to snap about him using the same line from earlier. He also had to fight the urge to pull away, instead, he stood still. Which was the wrong move since Blaine instantly noticed something was off. 

"Kurt? Are you feeling okay?" He asked. Kurt wanted to snort, of course, his loving and caring husband was back. That's what made him all happy all of a sudden, he was getting some. 

"I'm fine, just a little tired. You know, I shouldn't be running around as I did in high school." Kurt joked. Blaine hummed and kissed his shoulder lightly. 

"Yeah, guess we aren't as young as we once were." He said. Kurt nodded and stepped away from Blaine, who gave him a confused look once Kurt turned to face him. 

"I think I am going to take a bath with some of those bath salts I got." He said, hoping Blaine wouldn't ask to join him. Thankfully his husband knew when to leave him alone and walked away. He heard the man mumble about calling his work friend and getting some drinks. Kurt didn’t mind. Anything to stay away from him.

The next morning he woke up to an empty bed. Blaine had texted him at some point during the night that he wouldn’t be home until late. Since he wasn’t home yet Kurt could only assume he meant late that night. Which made things easier for him to go to his storage locker with Elliot before work. The two of them decided there that Elliot would take the things that Kurt couldn’t pack and take with him. By the time Kurt had to leave for work, they had gotten through most of his things. 

“Thanks again for doing this.” Kurt said as Elliot walked him to the subway. Elliot laughed and shook his head, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It was nothing, you did most of the heavy lifting.” He said. Kurt rolled his eyes and gave the other man a small smile. 

“By the way, if you need to leave earlier than planned you can hide out at my place.” Elliot offered, to which Kurt instantly agreed and thanked him. During his lunch break, he ended up going to the closest clinic to get the test done. He ended up giving them Finn’s phone number to call about his results. He was told that they would know in seven to ten days. They also assured him that they would only call if something came up. Though he knew it would drive him crazy not knowing for sure. After work, him and Elliot finished going through his storage locker and Kurt ended up going back home with a box of things. He also gave Elliot the key to his storage locker since he would be the one to ship off the last of his things when the time came.

Day six was Christmas. Blaine had come home around ten the night before and left early the morning of. They didn’t even open gifts with each other or sing their duet. After waiting two hours for his husband to come back home Kurt left to grab a coffee and buy another flash drive for an additional backup on his documents. Before he went to the coffee shop he went to the bank and talked to them about getting an updated bank statement. Once that was finished he ran into Chandler again. This time the two of them were able to talk about happier things. Like Chandler’s cat Abby having kittens and Kurt’s plans for his new life in Ohio.

“And here I thought you were city-bound.” Chandler laughed. Kurt playfully shoved his shoulder, a small pout on his lips.

“I am also sure that you didn’t think I was into Marvel films and the old Batman cartoons.” Kurt huffed. Chandler snorted before taking another sip of his coffee.

“Who wasn’t?” Chandler laughed. 

Day seven Kurt finally got the documents off of the home computer and onto both flash drives. He hid one of them in his suitcase before he started packing. He started with the clothes he was not going to part with then he moved onto the objects he wanted to keep. By the time he finished, he realized that he had a mostly empty suitcase. There were a few shirts in there, two of them being the T-shirts he bought at Macys two days prior, and three pairs of pants. Other than that he had the painting and photo albums he had found. The things from his storage box were mostly documents he had now placed in a binder. In the end, he made one more look around the house before he closed the suitcase and called Dani on the burner phone. By the end of the hour, the suitcase was swapped with the empty one and she was gone. He managed to once again delete the call history on the phone and placed it back in it’s hiding spot. Since Christmas Eve was his last day he had nothing else to do with his time at home. Other than packing his to-go bag, which was already mostly packed. 

On day eight Kurt was restless. He wanted to be out of the house but Blaine was home that day. He ended up deciding that they would spend that day doing their usual Christmas things since they had missed the day before. 

“It will be fun. Plus I feel bad for leaving you at home alone all day.” Blaine said. Kurt nodded along, not wanting to admit he left the house. Blaine would flip if he knew. 

“It wasn’t all that bad. I got to go through my stuff and set aside the things that no longer fit anymore. You know, like those old pants I never wear.” Kurt said. 

“Why now? It is still the middle of winter.” Blaine asked. Kurt forced himself to not bite his bottom lip, a habit he sadly picked up from Sam after living with him for almost a year during high school. Also, one that he never dropped after he stopped living with the blond. 

“I figured why not, it is Christmas and I will probably order new ones soon.” Kurt shrugged. Internally his heart was pounding. Did Blaine find something? Does he know something is up? When he didn’t ask any more questions and insisted that they open their presents Kurt let his guard down slightly. The morning soon turned to afternoon and Blaine didn’t bring up anything weird. He asked about work and if Kurt had made any new friends. While Kurt had to lie about one and slightly fib the second question he really saw no issue about the conversation. Kurt made sure not to ask the same questions, though that was because he knew the answer to both. Work was fine and he was making out with some dude Kurt swears he has seen before. 

“So, have you been to that coffee shop near the bookstore? It is walking distance from here. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.” Blaine said, his tone a little airy. Kurt couldn’t stop himself from biting the inside of his lip this time and Blaine’s eyes narrowed. 

“Yeah, I’ve stopped there before work a few times.” Kurt said, trying to figure out which time he saw him there. 

“Oh, is that so? Do you go there by yourself?” Blaine asked, to which Kurt said he did. 

“Really, because I could have sworn that I saw you there yesterday with this man.” Blaine said. Kurt’s eyes widened and Blaine stood. 

“Which is weird because you just told me that you haven’t made any new friends.” He scoffed. Kurt made a move to stand up but Blaine stood right in front of him, giving him no room to escape.

“Which could only mean that this is not someone new. Because you wouldn’t lie to me, right Kurt?” Blaine asked. Kurt didn’t answer, if he said he didn’t then Blaine would be pissed because he lied. If he said he did then it would only make Blaine worse. 

“Answer the question!” Blaine demanded. When Kurt kept his mouth shut Blaine’s eyes darkened. The shorter man gave him an unimpressed look and chuckled darkly. Kurt swore he felt every hair on his body stand and goosebumps appear on his arms. His heart rate picked up and he felt all the air in the room disappear in seconds. 

“You can’t even deny it, unbelievable.” Blaine muttered. He turned around and Kurt moved slightly to prepare to stand up. In what could have only been half a second at most Blaine turned around and socked his jaw. Kurt fell back into the couch, which did not please Blaine at all. 

“Get up!” He growled, clenching his fist. When he didn’t make another move to stand Blaine grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him. Kurt tried his best to dead weight the other man, which worked. However, when Kurt’s body fell to the ground Blaine climbed on top of him and began to punch him in the face. Kurt tried to block the other man’s fist with his hands but it only made Blaine more and more furious. 

“When are you going to learn?” Blaine snarled. 

_ “Confront him. Call him out. I ran Kurt. I didn’t stand up. I let bullies chase me away. And it is something that I really, really regret.”  _

Kurt felt another blow to his face and he tried to push Blaine off of him. 

_ “You are nothing but a scared little boy who can’t handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!” Karofsky looked like he was going to punch him, instead he kissed him.  _

Once Kurt thought he managed to shock Blaine enough by pushing him roughly the other man kissed him. Instead of it being the gentle kisses he used to get, this one was rough. Blaine bit his lip and yanked on his hair. Kurt wanted to scream in pain after Blaine bit down hard enough on his lip to draw blood. 

_ “No, no, stop it!” Kurt yelled as he tried to pull away from Blaine. He knew that if the positions were reversed he wouldn’t have been able to get the shorter boy off.  _

“Blaine stop!” Kurt yelled as he pulled away. Blaine moved back in and he pinned the boy down this time. 

_ “Why are you yelling at me?” Blaine asked. He actually looked confused which made Kurt even more upset. _

_ “Because I never felt less like being intimate with someone and either you can’t tell or you just don’t care!” He stressed he could feel the tears rolling down his face and Blaine started to walk away from him. Though he wasn’t heading back to the bar.  _

_ “Where are you going?” Kurt asked. _

_ “I’m sorry if I’m trying to be spontaneous and fun!” Blaine yelled as he kicked at the ground. Kurt felt the small rocks hitting him but he didn’t care. He was confused about what just happened.  _

_ “I think I’m just gonna walk home.” Blaine huffed and walked away.  _

Kurt tried to position himself to knee the other man but Blaine pulled away with a satisfied look on his face. Kurt could see his blood on Blaine’s lips and for a few seconds, he was terrified he would need stitches. 

“Don’t forget, till the day we die. You are mine.” He said. Kurt didn’t respond and Blaine didn’t care. The other man stood and headed out of the room. Kurt counted the sounds of his footsteps until he heard the front door being opened then slammed shut. A few seconds later the sound of Blaine’s car was heard. It wasn’t until then did he let himself start to cry. 

The rest of the day went by in a blur. He had to call Elliot to come over and take pictures of his face and the rest of the damage that was done. It was even worse when Kurt had to tell him that he couldn’t hide out at his house. 

“He would expect it. It would give him a heads up that I was skipping town.” Kurt explained. He wasn’t happy about it, he was even less happy that Elliot thought he should go to the ER about the damage Blaine did to his lip. Kurt had to stop himself from telling him that Blaine had done worse to his arm and neck from biting. 

The next day Blaine was back to his happy and apologetic self. He gave him the expensive present, this time it was a laptop, flowers and made him breakfast. Kurt tried his best to act as though he forgave him, but he knew that he wasn’t doing a great job of it. Blaine kept shooting him the kicked puppy expression he did whenever Kurt was upset with him. Eventually, Kurt lied and told Blaine that he needed to go to work. Blaine then gave Kurt a check for the suits he was supposed to buy for them. As well as the measurements that he definitely hadn’t updated since he wrote them down. 

“Hey, I love you.” Blaine said as Kurt headed to the front door. 

“I love you too.” Kurt said as awkwardly as it had been saying the first time. Blaine did not notice the tension and let Kurt leave the house. While he was out he went to the attorney to sign the last bit of papers that was needed and informed him that he would call when he was ready for them to be served. He also called his old boss and thanked her for everything she did for him. Once that was out of the way he got Blaine his suit and went out for lunch. While he was out he made a note of where the bus station was before heading back home. 8 hours left, he had 8 hours until that bus would be taking him away from all of this. 

Later that night Blaine was still in a good mood. He kissed Kurt softly and tried to give him a backrub. He even cooked them dinner, which wasn’t burned somehow. Still, Kurt kept an eye on the clock. Dani would be there at 11 that night to get him. He was almost worried that Blaine would still be up. 

“I am going to head to bed. The party is tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep.” Blaine finally said around ten-thirty. Kurt smiled and gave him a quick kiss. He told Blaine that he would be in bed in an hour. He told Blaine that he was going to make himself a cup of tea and to not wait up for him. Blaine agreed and headed to their room. Once the door was closed Kurt went to the kitchen and made himself some food for the bus ride. Once that was packed up he grabbed the backpack and the burner phone. He took the SIM card and battery out of it and pocketed the actual phone. Once the clock hit 11 he placed his key on the table and headed to the door. 

“Goodbye Blaine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote half of this while I was driven by insomnia and not wanting to fall asleep while I had this mostly written. If there is a pacing problem I blame it mostly on that and the fact this chapter wanted to end early so badly. 
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is welcomed. As are normal comments and kudos.


	5. On My Way Back Home

There is a weird feeling that comes with leaving. This feeling consists of the excitement of your plan working, the fear that it didn’t, and the overwhelming disbelief that your reality is not a dream. The drive between the home he had for the past four or so years and the station was all too short. Kurt watched the city he lived in pass him by, though he was not paying attention to the world around him. Instead, he was stuck inside his head, mulling over every single ‘what if’ he could imagine. Before he knew it Dani was nudging his arm and letting him know they were at the station. 

“Thank you.” He mumbled before giving her a quick hug. He didn’t hear her response, he wasn’t even sure if she did say something. Before he went into the station he made sure to toss the burner phone and Dani took the SIM card before driving off. The next hour or so went by in a similar fashion as the car ride to the station. Kurt  slept walked through check-in and all the steps that led to him sitting on the greyhound. Even as he was going from one stop to the next, he was trapped in his head. Memories of the day before and everything that led to this moment ran through his head. Despite that, he really had no idea how he actually got to this point. The point where he had to leave in the middle of the night. 

_ “Is that how you see me? A thing of felt and cloth and button eyes with no feelings? That you can play with and manipulate and then discard whenever you’re bored?” Kurt demanded while he paced back and forth.  _

Okay, so maybe he had an idea of when he noticed something was up. Even then, he knew something was wrong before then. From Blaine cheating to Blaine accusing him of cheating. There were moments that should have stood out to him. Hindsight is 20/20, or at least that is how the old saying goes. There was not one particular moment that he could think of that screamed when his relationship with Blaine turned sour. It is not like one day Blaine suddenly went from a great boyfriend or husband to beating him. 

_ “Don’t try so hard next time.” Blaine said, cocking his head slightly to the side as he walked over to him.  _

Those words at the time seemed like decent advice and ones he didn’t think he took to heart. Other moments like it played in his head over and over. It was like he never actually knew the man he married. He only saw him through those rose-tinted glasses and everything had been right there in front of him the whole time. Kurt was soon brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He violently flinched away but also looked up, only to see a confused looking man. 

“Sorry for scaring you dude, but the driver said we are refueling.” He said. Kurt nodded and stood up and headed off the bus. The break was relatively short and after a quick trip to the bathroom he was back on the bus and staring out the window. A small part of him wanted to find anything to distract him but he knew his thoughts would only go back to him. He thought about the proposal, the day they were locked in the elevator, the day Kurt broke off their engagement.

_ "I will never forgive you for this." Blaine says, tears running down his face. Kurt watched as he left, a part of him felt relieved. Though that feeling was drowned out with feelings of regret and despair.  _

They were broken up for almost a year. Why did he decide to fly out to Ohio? There was no real reason to, he could have done his project anywhere really. Though, it was nice seeing Sam again. Sam, now that was an entirely different situation altogether. 

_ “That will be $64.75.” The pizza delivery man said. Kurt looked up as he started to hand the man the cash, only to stop when he saw who the person was.  _

_ “Sam?” He asked. Sam’s eyes widened when he realized who he was delivering to. Before he could say something Blaine came over.  _

_ “Is something wrong-oh, Sam right?” Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow.  _

Blaine had a weird thing about Sam. It started when Kurt actually transferred to Dalton and some of the warblers had been asking about his friends and the members of the New Directions. He had been hesitant to tell them much, loyalty to his old glee club and all. Though after he realized they weren't actually asking about anything competition-related he loosened up and answered happily. He told them about his feud with Rachel and his many shopping trips with his girls. He also talked about the weird younger-older brother relationship he had with Puck and how he and Artie had been friends since preschool. Sam was only brought up when Jeff asked if he had any crushes on the boys. 

_ "Sam? Really? Isn't he straight?" Blaine asked, crossing his arms slightly? Kurt almost laughed when he saw the small pout on Blaine's lips.  _

_ "It was short-lived." Kurt ended up saying, chuckling to himself.  _

_ "Sadly bleaching your hair means nothing when it comes to sexuality." He added, making Blaine roll his eyes. The pout disappearing instantly. _

Sam and Kurt had an odd friendship, at least to New Direction's standards. They sometimes sat together during the club meetings when Sam wasn't sitting near Finn or Quinn. Other than that, they hardly interacted at school. Not for a lack of wanting to, but because their schedules worked better for after school activities. They emailed and texted each other constantly and when the final bell rang one of the boys went to the other's house. They studied together, they played video games, they watched movies and listened to music. When Sam needed relationship advice he went to Kurt. When Kurt needed someone to vent to he went to Sam. Yet no one seemed to notice they were friends.

_ “Why were you at a motel? With Sam of all people?” Blaine asked the second Kurt picked up the phone. _

_ “I was dropping off some things for his siblings. Blaine, we talked about it, remember?” Kurt said, confusion filling his voice. Blaine seemed to calm down after that and began asking a few questions. Kurt tried to answer them all, but his heart was still racing slightly. Though after a couple of minutes all was forgotten.  _

Okay, so Blaine knew they were friends. He knew that they spent the summer hanging out when Sam wasn’t with Mercedes. He knew that Kurt was the one to help Sam pack up his things before moving to Kentucky. He knew Kurt spent a week out in Kentucky with Sam and his family. 

_ “It is just a week Blaine.” Kurt laughed, shaking his head slightly. Kurt could see Blaine rolling his eyes but the slight frown remained on his face.  _

_ “Just remember who you’ll have waiting for you back home.” Blaine ended up saying.  _

_ “Of course. I love you.” Kurt said, making Blaine sigh in relief.  _

_ “I love you too.” _

Kurt didn’t think about his boyfriend once while out there, something that Blaine brought up enough times later down the line. In Blaine’s world Kurt was never there when he needed him. 

“What has you thinking so hard?” He heard a voice ask. Kurt looked over and saw that it was the same man from earlier. Kurt’s first instinct was to lie and say it was nothing, or that he was just daydreaming. Still, it might be nice to-

“I am just wondering if leaving New York was the right thing.” He ended up saying. The man nodded, though his eyes were trained on the wedding ring he was still wearing. 

“I don’t think New York is what you’re questioning leaving.” He eventually said. Kurt sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. 

“If the bruise on your face means anything, I say you did the right thing.” The man continued. Kurt wanted to argue, though he knew it was pointless. If a random stranger on the greyhound could tell that he was meant to leave, didn’t that mean he was supposed to? 

“I’ve been married to him for five years.” Kurt ended up saying, as though that fact was supposed to mean anything. The man scoffed slightly but didn’t leave his seat. When Kurt opened his eyes he saw that the man was looking out the window next to Kurt’s seat. 

“That may seem like forever now, but in five years you will look back on this time and be thankful you did what you did. It was your time to leave.” He eventually said. Kurt nodded and looked away from the man. It didn’t help much, though it did leave Kurt questioning what he was going to do next, rather than what he could have done to prevent it all. 

Once they got to the next stop Kurt ended up eating his food before running off to buy a prepaid flip phone at the gas station. Once he got the phone he was back on the bus and spent the time between that stop and the next to open the packaging and at the next stop, he tossed the plastic. Throughout the rest of the trip, he was finally able to sleep while they were on the road. At the station he made sure to contact Finn, letting him know if there were any unexpected delays, and his brother continued to ensure him that he would be at the station when he got there. Before he knew it they were in Ohio, and then soon enough he was in Columbus.

Kurt ended up texting Finn since the prepaid phone was dying, the final text being the last bit of battery. He wasn’t all that worried though, after all, he would recognize his giant of a brother anywhere. 

“Hope you get what you’re looking for here.” The man that had been sitting next to him says as Kurt goes to grab his suitcase. Kurt gave the man a slight nod before he headed off. This was it, it was the rest of his life. The only thing he needed to do was find Finn and he could officially restart his life. The only problem was that he did not see Finn anywhere. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I am not dead. Between the end of the semester, the holidays, and work my life was swamped. Then add the fact I have just been exhausted these past few weeks does not help. However, I am finally back. 
> 
> I do have to ask y'all if having the next chapter in another person's perspective would be too big of a change? Let me know in the comment section. 
> 
> As always: Comments are always welcome, constructive criticism even more so. Kudos and bookmarks always make my day ontop of it :) See you all in the next chapter.


	6. Enter Sam Evans

The original plan had been for Finn to pick up Kurt. That had been the plan up until Sam had headed out to his night class. However, when Sam had gotten back to the apartment and Finn was still asleep, he knew those plans had changed. To be fair to the older man, he had a 12-hour shift that got extended an hour due to a last-minute call. This is how Sam found himself driving to Columbus at 11 at night to pick up Kurt. Despite being overly ecstatic to see his old friend, Sam had to admit there was a part of him that wasn’t thrilled about driving back to Lima with said friend. Don’t get him wrong, he was more than happy to drive him. Again, Finn was still asleep and he did not have the heart to wake him up just to drive again. He also was excited to see his old friend. It was more the nerves of seeing said friend after what had happened the last time they actually saw each other. 

_“This can never happen again.” Kurt whispered harshly. Sam’s eyes narrowed before heading to the door._

_“Don’t worry, wasn’t planning on it.” He said before leaving the apartment._

That wasn’t his proudest moment, he had to admit. He also tried to call, but Blaine picked up and that also did not end well. He was pretty sure Blaine blocked his number, though he wouldn’t be shocked if Kurt had been the one to do it. He overstepped, and he paid for that mistake. Or maybe not, since Kurt was staying with them. Finn didn’t actually explain why on that one. All he knew was that Kurt was coming and Blaine wasn't, which is the other reason Sam was so willing to actually pick up the man. He was not Blaine's biggest fan. He hadn't been since the shorter man had said he was selling himself in the middle of the choir room. And yeah they were buds for a couple of years, which then led to Blaine's crush on him when he was still trying to get back with Kurt.

_"Blaine is going to propose to you." Sam said frantically the moment Kurt opened his bedroom door. Kurt cocked his head to the side for a second before raising an eyebrow._

_"And you are mentioning this now because?" Kurt asked. Sam instinctively brought his hand up to his hair and huffed quietly. He didn't know why the fact was bothering him so much. It just seemed so weird and he didn't understand where it was coming from._

_"A few weeks after Mr. Shuester got married he admitted he had a crush on me. He still does, I see the way he looks at me. But then he got it in his head that he needed to propose to you. He's been planning this for weeks now." Sam said, hoping that Kurt would understand where he was coming from._

He didn't, or if he did then he never mentioned it. Kurt accepted the proposal and the rest is history. There was a brief moment when Sam had hoped that maybe Kurt was over the man after they broke up. That he realized that he and Blaine would never work out, that Blaine was always going to need more attention than Kurt could reasonably give him. Hell, he failed out of college and never tried again. At least, that is what he heard from Tina when they still talked. He hadn't actually spoken to most of the old glee club since Rachel and Finn's divorce. Hell, he hardly spoke to Finn and he lived with the guy. Their schedules didn't really align well. 

Before he knew it, Sam was at the station. He was late, he knew that. Though from his experience the greyhound was always late. Once he got into the station he began to look for where Kurt would have gotten off. When he couldn’t spot the man he panicked slightly, what if he wasn’t coming? What if he already arrived and had decided to take a bus or a shuttle? What if-

“Sam?” He heard a voice call. He turned around and saw his old friend standing there. He sighed in relief before stepping towards the slightly shorter man.

“Hey, Kurt.” Staring at the man in front of him now was almost like a blast from the past. If Sam tried hard enough he could see the teen that had walked up to his locker and decided on the spot to be his duet partner. He could see the teen that continued to email him after they didn't actually do said duet. Sam and Kurt’s friendship was a gradual thing. Back when they met, Sam had no idea what to think about the guy. When he first saw him in the courtyard he thought that the guy fit in the group of singing teens. He then saw the guy in different outfits and, well, he figured out quickly the guy was gay. Which was cool, he had plenty of friends who were. Then he actually met the guy, and he was a bit intense. Passionate for sure, but also intense. He switched between ‘scary Kurt’ and ‘cool and chill Kurt’ faster than Rachel talked. It wasn’t until Kurt spied on the Warblers did they actually start becoming friends.

_“Hey, wait up!” Sam called as he tried to catch up with the other teen. Kurt stopped and turned around. The anger he saw in the other teen's eyes was almost enough to make Sam stop in his tracks._

_“What do you want?” Kurt asked, his voice tight. Sam swallowed nervously but continued walking up to him._

_“What they said in there, it wasn’t cool.” He tried. He could have sworn he saw Kurt’s mouth twitch._

Seeing him there now was almost like that day all over again. Kurt held himself in a way that made him look unapproachable. Like he was trying to ward off anymore that would want to come near him. It didn't help that he could clearly see that Kurt had changed in appearance on top of how he held himself. Kurt was much thinner than he recalled, and he didn't have the muscle tone he once had all those years ago. His eyes were dull and he was pale. Paler than he had ever seen the guy, which is saying something because the dude was always pale. 

“It is good to see you, man.” Sam said, surprisingly meaning it. Kurt gave him a nervous smile before looking down at his bags. Sam instantly remembered where they were and went to grab one of them. He wanted to ask him why he looked so scared when he moved his arm. He wanted to ask him if Blaine was the reason. He wanted to ask him if he still hated him for what happened. Instead he just gave him a smile and began to pull the suitcase towards the door. 

“Come on, I have the truck running.” He said. Kurt nodded and followed Sam out of the station. 

If Kurt were being honest he had no idea what to feel about seeing Sam there at the station. When he was waiting for his brother he was worried that Finn had forgotten. Now he almost wished that he had, instead of sending Sam. Not that he and Sam weren’t friends or that he didn’t trust Sam. Quite the opposite, though with how they left things when they last talked, it was almost like cruel irony. He left Blaine and now had to suffer the consequences of his husband. 

_“I just think it is weird that he likes to hang out with you all the time.” Blaine said. Kurt raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms._

_“I live with him, Blaine. Also what you said in there was not okay. We both know why he was an exotic dancer.” Kurt said._

_“Exotic dancer, let's call it what it really was Kurt. He was a stripper.” Blaine huffed._

After Kurt had apologized to Sam, on Blaine's behalf, Sam let him know that he saw Blaine at the Lima Bean with this 'tall skinny dude'. He then also told him that he had assumed the two had broken up. At the time Kurt brushed it off, after all, Blaine would never actually do anything like that to him. It wasn't until Blaine accused him of cheating did he figure out what Sam had been implying. 

_"You used to text Sebastian all the time. You would call him even." Kurt said in an exasperated tone._

_"I didn't like him and all those texts were family-friendly." Blaine said in a similar tone._

The fighting didn't stop after Kurt cut out Chandler. In fact, Blaine started getting nosier after this. He started going through Kurt's phone, demanding to know where he was. When Kurt moved to New York he had hoped Blaine would loosen up, but he didn't. The night before he left for New York Blaine ended up punching the wall next to Kurt's head. He bruised his knuckles and broke down crying. He swore he would never do something like that again. He lied. 

It didn't take long for Sam and Kurt to get to the truck, even less time for them to leave the station. The drive on the way home was almost unbearable for both boys. Sam had no idea what to talk about and Kurt didn’t want to speak about anything. They didn’t want to bring up the past, on how things had ended. Despite the fact they had the radio playing, it did nothing but add to the awkwardness of the lack of speaking. They might as well have been looking at each other from their separate sides of the choir room. Once they were back in Lima Sam finally cracked. 

“So, no Blaine?” He asked. Kurt shook his head, his eyes trained on the passing scenery from his window. 

“No, I um left him.” He mumbled. Sam nodded, not knowing how to even respond to that. 

“Um, I’m sorry? Or erm congrats. I don’t really know how to respond to that.” Sam admitted. 

“It’s fine, it was bound to happen eventually. We didn’t exactly get along that well before we were married.” Kurt laughed bitterly. Sam sighed and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. 

“For what it’s worth, he was never good for you. I also tried to stop him from proposing.” Sam said. Kurt nodded but winced slightly.

“Thank you for at least trying.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hope that the interchanging between point of view wasn't that confusing. Also, if it wasn't obvious before, Finn is a police officer. I was debating between him being a firefighter and a police officer and finally had to make a decision. I just don't see him being a teacher.
> 
> Anyways, comments are always welcome. As are Kudos, bookmarks, and constructive criticism. I am sorry about the lack of updates. Life kinda happens. Hopefully, I will soon get to a point where I can sit down and write more often. See y'all in the next chapter :)


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